Transport belts, also known as conveyor belts, are often utilized in automation to grip and carry items between and through machines. The transport belts are often driven by a motorized pulley, and the paths of the transport belts are often determined by the placement of idler or non-driven pulleys. A side view of a conventional non-driven pulley assembly 100 is illustrated in FIG. 1. The assembly 100 may include a pulley 102 rotatably disposed on a shaft 104 that is coupled with a deck or platform 106 of a machine, such as a conveyor belt machine, via a mechanical fastener 108. As illustrated in FIG. 1, the pulley 102 may be operably coupled with a conveyor belt or transport belt 110, and configured to at least partially maintain and determine a path of the transport belt 110.
Conventional transport belts 110 may be relatively long in comparison to their widths, and may often require multiple non-driven pulley assemblies 100 to maintain the path thereof. As such, maintaining the alignment or centering of the transport belt 110 in relation to each of the non-driven pulley assemblies 100 is necessary to facilitate the movement of the transport belt 110. Particularly, it is desirable to place or maintain the centerline of the transport belt 110 along or close to the centerline of the pulley 102. In a conventional non-driven pulley assembly 100, the centerline of the transport belt 110 is adjusted relative to the centerline of the pulley 102 by an operator (not shown) changing or adjusting an angle (θ1) of the pulley 102 relative to the deck 106 by trial and error. Specifically, the angle (θ1) of the pulley 102 relative to the deck 106 is adjusted by bending the shaft 104, rotating the already bent shaft 104, and/or utilizing angled spacers (not shown) to either increase or decrease the angle (θ1). When the angle (θ1) is decreased relative to the deck 106 (e.g., from 90 degrees to 89.7 degrees, etc.), a highpoint of the pulley 102 moves away from the deck 106, and when the angle (θ1) is increased (e.g., from 90 degrees to 90.2 degrees, etc.), the highpoint of the pulley 102 moves toward the deck 106. The bent-shaft and angled-spacer approaches to adjusting the angle (θ1) of the pulley 102 relative to the deck 106 are difficult, time consuming, and can weaken the shaft 104. Further, adjusting the angle (θ1) of the pulley 102 relative to the deck 106 while the machine is in motion or operation is typically not possible (e.g., to bend the shaft 104 while the pulley 102 is in motion) or is very dangerous to the operation (e.g., to insert angling spacers next to parts that are in motion).
What is desirable, then, are improved pulley assemblies and methods for adjusting the pulley to center the belt on the pulley.